Palmer’s Career Comes to a Close for ’Jills

February 28, 2018

The Cameron Dragons outscored the Valley Lumberjills, 23-9, in the two middle periods to lead them to a 52-34 victory in the opener of the Region I, Section I Sectionals Feb. 21, inside the warm and cozy John Marshall Field House.

Valley's Caitlyn Underwood scored the game's first basket off an assist from Jenna Dallison, but the Lady Dragons made 3-4 free throws and a two-pointer to take over the lead.

However, Underwood cashed in on a three-pointer to even things up. Valley's Rachel Bates tacked on a deuce in between a pair of Cameron baskets, before Dallison and McKinley Yoho scored off a pair of Sophie Palmer assists, to take a 11-9 lead with 3:10 left on the clock.

Article Photos

Photo by Bruce CrawfordValley Lumberjills Head Coach Jeff Derby explains what he want his cagers to do during a time-out to his starters during third period action in the Sectionals against the Cameron Dragons.

Bates netted a deuce in between a Cameron deuce and three-pointer, before Palmer landed her only basket of the period with a nice assist by Dudgeon for their last lead of the night. Cameron made a two-pointer to end period one, up 16-15.

Cameron opened the second stanza on a 8-0 run, before Dallison scored a deuce on a throw-in from Palmer.

The Lady Dragons scored six of the final eight points, with Underwood swishing a pair of freebies for Valley, with Cameron leading 30-19 heading into the break.

Defense played a key role in the second half, as the two teams only scored 14 total points in the third, before bumping it up to 23 in the fourth period.

Palmer scored 12 of their 15 total points in the second half for the Lumberjills, with 10 of them coming in the fourth period.

Palmer paced the 'Jills with 14 points, including two baskets from beyond the arch, while compiling eight rebounds and blocking a shot. Underwood followed with eight markers, including a three-ball, while adding four rebounds and making two steals.

In addition, Dallison and Bates both tallied four markers, while Yoho added a deuce, and Dudgeon a free throw for all the Valley scoring.

Kelsie Meintel scored 19 points, pushing her over 1,000 points in her career, with Courtney Walker also netting 19 points as the only two double-digit Dragon scorers.